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Updated: Jan 11, 2026

Author Spotlight: Tracing the Ferroptotic Signatures and Cell Death Dynamics in Medulloblastoma for Advanced Therapeutics
Published on: March 15, 2024
LMO4 promotes OSCC progression by inducing RAB17 degradation and ferroptosis resistance
JiaJia Fan1, Hongyan Zhang2, Lin Liu3
1Department of Oral Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Stomatology, China Medical University, Oral Diseases Laboratory of Liaoning, 117 Nanjing North Road, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110000, China.
Abstract:
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an aggressive cancer with limited improvement in patient outcomes despite advances in surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The LIM-only protein LMO4 functions as a transcriptional co-regulator and is known to be increased in several epithelial cancers, but its contribution to OSCC has not been well defined. In this study, we found that LMO4 expression was markedly higher in OSCC tissues and was associated with poorer overall survival. Cellular experiments showed that LMO4 enhanced OSCC cell proliferation, migration, and resistance to ferroptosis by promoting the ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation of the tumor suppressor RAB17. Restoration of RAB17 expression reduced these malignant behaviors. In a nude mouse xenograft model, tumors with high LMO4 grew faster and displayed lower RAB17 protein levels. Taken together, our results indicate that LMO4 contributes to OSCC progression through post-translational regulation of RAB17 and ferroptosis control, suggesting that this pathway could serve as a new therapeutic target.
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